In the Summer 2007 issue, Healthy & Wise featured
Bridgeport Hospital physicians using robot-assisted minimally
invasive surgery for urological and prostate cancer
procedures. Patients who undergo surgery using this
new method usually experience less scarring and a faster
return to their daily routines.
Bridgeport Hospital surgeons are
now using the robot-assisted minimally
invasive technique for
select gynecological procedures..

Say your doctor recommends a
hysterectomy to address a precancerous
condition. You’re worried
about the procedure and the
recovery. You think, How long
will I be in the hospital? How long
until I’m feeling – and looking –
"myself " again?

The answer may be “Sooner than
you think!” thanks to a highly
sophisticated tool in Bridgeport
Hospital’s surgeons’ tool box, the
da Vinci “S” Surgical System.

This complex set of robotic arms
(miniature instruments) and eyes
(visualization technology) allows Bridgeport Hospital surgeons
to control every precise movement with increased sensory
capabilities:

Sight: A sophisticated viewing system intensely magnifies
the area undergoing the operation.

If you’re a candidate for hysterectomy, ask your doctor
about your treatment options. Here is one way Bridgeport
Hospital physicians use robot-assisted minimally invasive
surgery to treat gynecological conditions in their patients:

Recovery from a traditional hysterectomy
can be long and
painful and leave a significant
scar. “The use of robot-assisted
minimally invasive surgery has
dramatically shortened recovery
time for my patients,” says
Chief of Gynecologic Oncology
Masoud Azodi, MD, who has
performed more than 100 procedures
with the da Vinci "S"
Surgical System. "Most women
are back to their daily activities in
weeks rather than months."

Through several tiny one- to twocentimeter
incisions, Dr. Azodi
skillfully controls the instruments
which are equipped with
a miniature camera that provides
3D viewing to better see a
woman’s anatomy and work in smaller areas around
the various organs in the abdomen.

Dr. Azodi closes the tiny incisions with sutures or
surgical skin glue. Both leave miniscule scars that, he
says, eventually are not noticeable at all.

"The robot-assisted minimally invasive surgeries I’ve
performed have significantly improved the quality of life
for my patients," says Dr. Azodi. "I strongly believe
that patients should always inquire about micro-invasive
surgery prior to agreeing to large laparotomy incisions."

Find a da Vinci Surgeon at Bridgeport Hospital

Using the da Vinci "S", Bridgeport Hospital surgeons are taking minimally invasive surgery
to the next level for urology, prostate, heart and gynecology patients. Bridgeport Hospital
surgeons who are trained to use the da Vinci “S” robot-assisted minimally invasive surgery
system include:

Urology
Edward Paraiso, MD
Arthur Pinto, MD
Robert Weinstein, MD

Cardiothoracic Surgery
M. Clive Robinson, MD

Gynecologic Oncology
Masoud Azodi, MD

Gynecology
Mark Laser, MD
Robert Deal, MD

For a referral to an expert physician affiliated
with Bridgeport Hospital, call us toll free,
24/7, at 1-888-357-2396.